Apartment building water supply set up

[jaco]

I manage a 22 unit apartment building that has the water meter in the rear of the building off from the alley. My question is how does the water get dispersed from the water main and into each apartment, is there some big manifold under the concrete that has 22 copper pipe lines that feed each apartment? the cement walkway where the water main sits in is in bad condition, the cement is crumbling, not wet, I would guess there has been water leaks in the past, I've been here for 16 years and while there have been no water leaks
that I have noticed, I have a gut feeling there is something going on here because on the opposite side of the building the grout between the bricks is crumbling and slightly damp, I guess water is percolating under and through the grout. the building was built 1952.
Thanks for your help.

[drtyhands]

If it has one meter it goes into the building one large pipe and then branches off to the units.

[NHMaster3015]

Well if they burried a superior product like copper, under a cement slab, there's a good chance the concrete has eaten through the copper. If you start getting wet spots in the apartments you will know for sure. Of course you could always do a pressure test on the system, but with 22 apts that's not going to be easy.

[drtyhands]

I wonder if a guy could schedule a building shut down with access to the inside of the buildings main riser and a ball valve for it to be installed to prevent NHM's pressure loss through ballcocks and the sort.That would eliminate the 22 units being the source of any pressure loss.Kindof need to do some research on the main where it enters into the structure.

Would a leak locating company with it's arsenal of equipment be of any help?

[jaco]

I wonder if a guy could schedule a building shut down with access to the inside of the buildings main riser and a ball valve for it to be installed to prevent NHM's pressure loss through ballcocks and the sort.That would eliminate the 22 units being the source of any pressure loss.Kindof need to do some research on the main where it enters into the structure.

Would a leak locating company with it's arsenal of equipment be of any help?

Thanks for ALL of the replies, I will be contacting a leak detection company next week, if they should find anything, I'll keep you posted.